Woo Shuen Yan (DaisyWoo): Design Principles

05/05/21(Week 6)

Woo Shuen Yan / 0342415 / Bachelor's in Creative Media

Design Principles
Task 5

LECTURE

Lecture in Week 5 was focusing on new topics aside from the principles of design, which are symbol and imagery with typography.

Symbol- The meaning conveyed by the symbol exceeds the obvious meaning. They are all decorative and represent the concepts that the artist thought of. In addition to the surface value of the artwork, you can also use symbols to establish other meanings.

Examples of symbolism in art:

Figure 1.0: The Eye Like A Strange Balloon Mounts Towards Infinity, 6 May 2021

The artwork above by Odilon Redon, explained as the big eyes are a symbol of the resurrected souls of the dead in the swamp. The body organs looking up at God are raising the skull. This work evokes the mystery in the dream. The head is a symbol of the origin of imagination.

Figure 1.1: Death And The Mask, 6 May 2021

This artwork by James Ensor gave lifelike smiles to the death skeleton in the center, and people's masks give people lifelike qualities. The mask tried to conceal the spiritual emptiness of that era. The bright color palette hints at the whimsical and absurdity of his time. The original color and savage texture are symbols of depriving human souls.

Imagery and typography- When interpreting text as an image, you can understand it quickly and easily. Letter forms or text parts can be used as objects/images alone, or can form part of an image. These devices are usually used to enhance messages. Use only printed forms to design objects to portray shapes and convey meaning. You can use single letters or entire words, but there should be a clear relationship between language form and semantics. The theme of the project is the Winter Olympics. Choose an Olympic sport (such as figure skating, skiing, ice hockey, etc.), use reference photos, use printed elements to design characters, and then play the sport.

Pictures from Pinterest.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make sure you have TWO designs, one for symbol and one for imagery and typography.

2. Upload both designs in PDF file in your blog.

3. Send your blog link in Google Classroom.

4. Your blog must be in your actual name for easy identification. Make sure it has:

a) visual research

b) idea exploration

c) feedback from lecturer

d) final design outcome (pictures must neatly cropped and must not be shadowy/blur)

e) brief reflection for the week

PROGRESS

a. Visual research.

When it comes to symbol, I quickly thought about Mask. I think mask could be a really good object to become a symbol for everything. So, I did some research on mask. Since the Stone Age, masks have been widely used as cultural objects around the world, and they are also different in appearance, use, and symbolic meaning.

For examples:

Figure 1.2: Hannya Mask, 7 May 2021

The Hannya is a jealous female demon. Like the name, the Hannya mask will display various emotional states based on how the light captures the characteristics of the mask. The different colors of the Hannya mask represent the different status of the character: the white mask represents the elegant woman, the red represents the less savvy people, and the darkest red represents the most evil of all demons, which totally unable to control her jealousy.

Figure 1.3: Superheroes' masks, 7 May 2021

When we look at some of the superheroes' masks, we can recognized their identity immediately. This is because they all became the symbol or logo of who they are that we can see what mask represents what meaning.

There will always be a representations or a deeper meaning to all the symbols.

Figure 1.4: Research on Imagery and typography on Pinterest, 7 May 2021

Pictures from Pinterest.

b. Idea exploration.

1. Idea 1 (Symbol)

Figure 1.5: Initial sketch of Symbol, 7 May 2021

This ideation was based on the pandemic that we are facing right now or when 2020 starts, The Covid-19. The mask represents how we have to wear face mask whenever going out or with people outside family. The fact that face mask had became a symbol of 2020...

2. Idea 2 (Symbol)

Figure 1.6: Initial sketch of Symbol, 7 May 2021

For this sketch, I thought that maybe just showing a person wearing mask isnt enough to bring out the meaning of what I am trying to convey. So, I decided to use gestures and other symbols like virus to show that we are fighting over virus. Of course the character still has to wear a mask representing us humans.

Figure 1.7: Adding Virus, 8 May 2021

Figure 1.8: Molding shapes, 8 May 2021

Note: Virus symbol inspired by Figure 1.9 below.

Reference:

Figure 1.9: Picture taken from Pinterest, 8 May 2021

Figure 2.0: Sketch of Symbol, 8 May 2021

Figure 2.1: More ideations, 8 May 2021

Figure 2.2: More ideation changes, 8 May 2021

3. Idea 3 (Imagery and typography)

Figure 2.3: Found object- magazines, 9 May 2021

I looked up some of the pictures in magazines that I have found, I will make use of these pictures and do a collage with it.

Figure 2.4: Editing process, 8 May 2021

4. Idea 4 (Imagery and typography)

After all the processes I did, I then had a mind changed for the ideation for imagery and typography. This was because I only noticed that we were supposed to create a design like collage text with pictures not just layout the pictures in a simple composition. Then, I started to search for new ideas. I went to pick an image of my favorite flower as usual, spider lilies.

Figure 2.5: Search for more flowers, 9 May 2021

Figure 2.6: Initial sketch, 9 May 2021

The idea of this flower design is where I will maybe overlay the text over an image of flower or just make use of the shape of the flower, then align the text with the shapes, where it represents the flower yet the text talks about the flower.